Pentax

We have talked a lot about the Pentax K-x and K-7 DSLR cameras around here. The K-x is the long running entry-level DSLR from Pentax that comes in all sorts of wild colors and designs. The camera rarely gets and update with new features though.

Pentax is tipped to be readying a pair of mirrorless camera technologies, one of which is being described as the digital version of the Pentax Auto 110. According to k-rumors, the new camera will feature a sensor that's smaller in size than an APS-C sensor, set to arrive within the next 2-3 months.

Pentax has outed another in the company's range of unusually colored DSLRs, this time a limited edition of 100 rainbow K-r cameras. Supposedly the result of customer demand, on the inside it's the same 12.4-megapixel shooter previously offered in white, black and red, complete with a 3-inch 920k dot LCD display, 6fps shooting for up to 25 frames, in-camera HDR editing and a 100 – 25600 ISO range, but on the outside it's an eye-catching (if not eye-watering) array of colors and a matching lens.

We have to admit, we weren't particularly convinced by the Pentax Optio RS1000 earlier on today, with its somewhat superfluous adhesive skins, but that's because the camera company didn't show us the really geeky options. Akihabara spotted some LEGO-style versions, which presumably have a base plate that sticks to the front of the RS1000 and then allows you to build up 3D models.

Pentax's other new cameras of the day are the point-and-shoot Optio RS1000 and Optio RZ10, the former offering gobfuls of customization thanks to eleven included 3M adhesive vinyl skins (and an app to help you create more) along with its 14-megapixel sensor and 4x optical zoom, while the RZ10 packs 14-megapixels as well but scales up to a 10x optical zoom. Both are capable of recording 720p HD video.

Pentax has revealed its latest DSLR, the 12.4-megapixel Pentax K-r, complete with a new 35mm lens to go with it. The K-r - which will be available not only in sober black but in Stormtrooper white and brazen hussy red - has a 3-inch 920k dot LCD display, 6fps shooting for up to 25 frames, in-camera HDR editing and a 100 - 25600 ISO range.

Pentax has had its K-x entry-level DSLR camera on the market for a while now. Rather than revamping the camera to offer new features and things like better image quality the company is happy to toss new colors and wild special editions onto the market every now and again.

As reasons for delaying a product launch go, overly "high demand" isn't something you can complain too loudly about, but all the same we imagine there are some disappointed Japanese photography geeks out there right now. Pentax Japan have delayed the launch of their 645D medium format DSLR, claiming to have been surprised by the number of orders received; instead, the 645D will drop on June 11th.

Pentax's huge medium-format 645D digital camera has had a public outing in Toronto this past weekend, demonstrating its updated Kodak 44 x 33 mm sensor - that has climbed from 30- to 40-mexapixels since we first saw the concept back in early 2009 - and general all-round awesomeness. Shooting a single frame per second, the Pentax 645D is apparently intended for scenery and other still-life photography, rather than anything faster moving. Scolirk grabbed some hands-on time and a demo video you can see after the cut.

I can understand that camera makers want their new offerings to stand out in the crowd of cameras with basically the same features. However, Pentax is starting to take the brightly colored camera offerings to the extreme. Take the new Pentax K-x unveiled today that will be a Tower Records exclusive in Japan.